Desperation
by RedPandaLove111
Summary: For the first time in a long time, Buzz Lightyear is desperate. He can only watch, helpless, as Jessie fights for her life...and he can't do anything to prevent any harm to come to her. TsoT spoilers! Buzz/Jessie.


**Desperation**

For the first time in a very long time, Buzz Lightyear is desperate. He is on his knees, nose an inch from the invisible barrier separating him from the outside world, fingers curled within the gap between the glass doors as he tries to wrench them open with all of his might. His plastic fingers ache, but he ignores this- his aquamarine eyes are fixated on the arching back of that green beast snapping and grabbing at Jessie's lithe cloth body.

If he had a physical heart, it would be hurting. He can't help her- and that's what's killing him. Watching her writhe, buck, and kick beneath the belly of the beast two times her size, green eyes wild and fierce with her flame-red braid loped over one shoulder makes him grit his teeth.

He knows she's strong, but against something like this, with teeth, with claws capable of tearing the stuffing out of her body- his mind shudders and he forces both the thought and image away. He already had lost his reins on his emotions.

Her eyes dart up, just for an instant, but enough time to lock onto his. Seeing the anguished look in those beautiful blue eyes spurs her, and Jessie drives a knee up, into the scaly reptile's exposed belly.

Buzz watches, gripped in silent horror, as the dark green body spasms, retches, and a plastic lump is sent skittering away over the tile, shiny with saliva.

"My hand!" The voice of Combat Carl is nothing more than an echo.

"Told ya," replies squeaky Combat Carl Jr, whose voice also comes in through some sort of mental tunnel in Buzz's head.

Suddenly, Jessie's eyes narrow- she plunges up and into the lizard's gaping jaws.

Simultaneous gags spread through the group, and the Cat Pez Dispenser lets a pez loose.

Buzz is even more frightened- at this vulnerable position, the reptile could merely snap his jaws shut, and tear her body in half. "What're you doing, Jessie…" He barely hears himself murmur.

Panting, Jessie emerges again- with Potato Head's plastic hand in grip. She hisses something at the lizard (he sees her lips part) and flings her own arm back. Potato Head's hand grabs hold of the velvet red curtain shielding the office from view- and the lizard proceeds to jerk Jessie away almost effortlessly by one leg.

Buzz's lips contort in a grimace, but his eyes flicker towards the curtain. With the tiny plastic hand gripping it, it's yanked away, a metallic sound resonating as the hangers supporting the curtain snap off one by one.

Light streams into the room. Before he can glance back down to see if Jessie was okay, the whole room is illuminated by pure sunshine, and he can see the bright brown eyes of Bonnie peering over her shoulder. He bolts to his feet, despite the jelly feeling in his knees, releases the glass, and assumes his position. He's still worried- Jessie was out of sight, along with that dastardly lizard.

"My toys!" Bonnie cries, and scampers around the counter, slipping and sliding over the tile, into the office before the distraught manager can stop her.

Bonnie's mother looks at the row of toys standing behind the glass cupboard, and eyes the manager frostily, following him into the office as he tries to guard the case. "Are those my /daughter's/ toys?" Her voice is icy as she picks Bonnie up, whom is clamoring for aforementioned items.

"No, no, of course not-" The manager laughs nervously- sweat is dripping from his comb of hair and over his lips.

A sudden ding catches the groups' attention. Their heads swivel, and Bonnie cries out upon seeing Jessie slumped in the basket, head perched on her head, smile on her plastic face- "Jessie!"

Bonnie's mother glares.

The manager winces. "Well- ah- they may or may not be your daughter's toys-"

Bonnie wriggles from her mother's arms, retrieves Jessie, and scampers back to her side. Studying Jessie for a moment, smiling widely, she holds the doll close in a gentle, tender embrace.

Buzz, seeing the green eyes, red hat, and equally red hair, feels something that had tensed within him loosen. She was fine. She was okay. His shoulders slump slightly, but he quickly resumes his position- right now, he wants nothing more than to go and embrace her, despite his own self-posed rules of keeping physical contact to nothing more than professional.

He sees one of her eyes close in a wink- directed to Combat Carl, he realizes, when he follows her gaze. The soldier tips one directly back at her.

The plastic smile Buzz adopts in 'Frozen Mode' slides off of his face, replaced with a genuine one.

The cupboard opens and Bonnie's mother begins to collect the toys, giving the pleading, whining manager a cold shoulder. "Please, if you're interested in selling them-" He blathers. "I'll give you a hundred for the cowboy!" With the rest of the toys in her arms, and Jessie in Bonnie's, the two head for the doorway. The manager follows. "I'll give you two hundred! What do you want?" He moans in agony and slumps against the counter.

Out in the parking lot, Bonnie gives Jessie one last hug before allowing her mother to pack her in the suitcase they'd brought. Exchanging smiles, mother and daughter shut the trunk together and round the car to slip into it.

In the trunk, the suitcase unzips, and Pricklepants is the first to pop up. "Ah," He breathes, "We're back where it all began."

"I never thought I'd be glad to be back in the trunk," Woody shakes his head, dusting himself off as he gets to his feet. Buzz and Jessie follow.

Buzz glances at her. She looks fine- just tired- but all the same. He places a hand on her back. "You did it, Jessie." His words are warm- relieved. "You saved us all."

Jessie meets his eyes, and her lips split into a grin. "Jessie didn't give up. Jessie found a way."

Woody chuckles. "Well, Woody would like to say thanks."

Jessie's head swivels and she grins at whom she considers her brother.

"Hey-" Rex's anxious voice perks up. "Has anyone seen Potato Head?"

"What?" Woody's eyes widen. "No."

Pricklepants chuckles. "Looks like the monster has come back to claim one final victim." His voice is morbid, dark, threatening.

"No, he hasn't." Jessie rolls her eyes. "He's right over there." She points to where the plastic spud is caressing his arm.

"We'll never be apart again," He croons- just before the car hits a speed bump and his arm (along with his other miscellaneous parts) goes scattering across the other side of the car. "Nuts."

Laughter erupts amongst the toys. It was good to laugh, a relief to, actually, what with the stress of the night prior.

Buzz, however, can't stop looking at Jessie. She's laughing, her eyes are sparkling- and he finds himself admiring her more than ever. She willingly allowed herself to be trapped in the one place she feared the most- a box- just to save one of her friends, and fought off a giant misshapen frog just to get Bonnie's attention. And after all of that- she still managed to pull off a grin, a laugh, a joke- just as if nothing had happened.

As those thoughts cross his mind, more flood in as well. How come he'd allowed himself to get snatched up, and leave Jessie stranded? How come he hadn't been able to come to her rescue? Each thought hurts a little bit more- Buzz Lightyear doesn't like to think of himself as weak, but these thoughts prove it. He finds a place to sit, and does so, away from the others, where these thoughts brew and stir. He'd almost lost Jessie…and he hadn't been able to do anything about it. What did this say about him? So much for being an intergalactic hero.

Buzz turns his head when a plastic hand lands on his shoulder. Jessie towers above him, a smile playing across her lips. "Hey, partner. Mind if I join you?" Without his response, she settles down beside him, their knees brushing.

Buzz smiles. "Hey, Jess."

Jessie studies his face for a moment, then jostles him. "Alright, out with it, Lightyear. What's eatin' you? You've got a longer face than Bullseye."

He almost smiles again- but it slips from his lips before he can catch it. He shakes his head. "Just thinking."

"Huh, well you've sure got an odd way of doin' it." Her nose crinkles, then she sobers. "Buzz-" She tries to read his face. "We got outta that nightmare. We're all here, we're all fine."

He closes his eyes, intertwining his fingers. "But we could have lost you, Jessie. I let myself get snatched up. I had to watch, from behind that glass, as you fought for your life- and I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't get us out of that situation- I couldn't protect you from getting sealed into that box. I couldn't do anything."

"But you didn't lose me. I'm right here, fine and dandy as I'll ever be." She draped an elbow on his shoulder and rested her head on it. "Buzz, you wanna know what kept me going when I was fighting that varmit? You. The fact that you, and the rest of Bonnie's toys, and even those other guys were trapped defenseless behind that…glass cage. There was nothing you could have physically done, Buzz." Her voice softened. "But you did do something. I saw that look on your face when I was wrestlin' with that critter- and it made me decide that I never wanted to see that look on your face again." She exhales, playfully putting a hand to her chest. "Whew. Think I've gone and run my voice box dry."

Buzz looks at her, surprised. "But-"

Jessie lifts her hand from his shoulder. "No 'buts', Mr. Lightyear." She waggles her finger in his face. "The box was something I had to face on my own. Nobody could do it but me. And I did do it. After all-"

Buzz cuts her off, a slight smile tilting his lips up. "Jessie never gives up, Jessie finds a way."

Her sparkling eyes meet his. "You're catchin' on." She grins, but it tones down to something more serious. "But, really, Buzz. Don't be so hard on yourself. You couldn't exactly escape from somethin' that snuck up on you, could ya? And that…" Her nose wrinkled. "/Man/ threw you in that cupboard. It's not your fault, Buzz."

Buzz looks down again. "I- suppose so. I just couldn't…stand seeing you and that lizard…so close."

Jessie nods. "Yeah. But he was only doin' what his master taught him to do," She shrugs. "He's pretty adorable otherwise," She grins.

"Depends on your taste in animals." He chuckles softly.

Hearing the amusement in his voice makes her grin grow. She loops her arm through his. "That's true," She muses. "Now, what say you we join the others and finish watching that cheesy movie?"

Buzz smiles and stands up as she does. "Sure," He agrees, "But first, Jess?"

She turns to him. "Yeah?"

He steps forward and, despite the size difference, embraces her. It's so good to feel her safe, to know she's not hurt, that she's perfectly fine- and here in his arms.

She starts, then smiles and wraps her arms around her space toy's neck. They stay like this for a while- for him, it feels good to hold her in his arms, and, for her, the embrace helps soak all of the fear and stress of the nightmarish day before away.

"Thanks, Buzz." She whispers in his ear.

Before he can pull back and inquire why he deserved her thanks, she pulls away, latches onto his hand, and drags him back to where the toys are gathered to finish the movie.

He allows himself to be tugged, a smile on his lips.


End file.
